LF: DSLR macro lens recommendations

[nanomarine]

There are so many amazing close ups of sps and lps corals that reveal structures which are difficult to see with your naked eye. I've always enjoyed looking at them when they were posted in the forum.

Just wondering what macro lens that can achieve good results for under $500.

Any advise and recommendations ?

 

[scuzy]

You gotta tell use which camera brand?

 

[marioensf]

Just as a starting point, a 100mm macro... yeah, you need to state your type of camera.

 

[nanomarine]

Haven't bought one yet, but most likely an entry level Canon or Nikon.

 

[ILikeURWrasse]

Nikon 105mm f2.8

 

[Ebn]

You might have to bring that price point up a tad if you're looking for a used Canon 100mm macro or the Nikon 105mm macro. If you're looking for a new lens, then you'll have to take a look at 3rd party alternatives, such as Tamron, Sigma, or Tokina.

 

[hyacinth]

Hey Tony,
The Tokina 100mm gets pretty good reviews as a basic, decent macro and it comes in either Canon or Nikon mounts. 380 new or can be had for around 300 used from folks at fredmiranda.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/393446-REG/Tokina_ATXAF100PRON_100mm_f_2_8_AT_X_M100.html

Canon also has the non L, non IS, 100mm for around 420 used: https://www.adorama.com/us%20%20%20%20898314.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwq7XMBRCDARIsAKVI5QbYB5Ux3JZdWX7DBNRIIeoZqDzmIazkoadHw2OrsE1LpWKZMXnXYvgaApU5EALw_wcB

Or just step up and get either the Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS Or the Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR for around 600-700 refurb or used:

https://www.adorama.com/us%20%20%20%20901475.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwq7XMBRCDARIsAKVI5QYUyRLpsUzUYXH5OuyUj5q2_8kJwb6rilcFCoo0k4egfTEU9OQO2R8aAjY0EALw_wcB

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-100mm-f-28l-macro-is-usm-refurbished

 

[scuzy]

I have a Canon 100mm F2.8 is and a sigma 150mm they are both excellent macro lenses.

 

[WLachnit]

Tony, IIRC, didn't you have a small telescope for looking at your corals?

Anyway, I'm finding myself in a similar situation now that I just started using a DSLR. How deep into the tank does that lens focus. In other words, how close to the glass does the coral have to be?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ebn]

That's gonna depend on several factors: 1) do you want to crop or not, 2) minimum working distance, 3) how much room do you have to maneuver around behind the camera.

Most of the time, the macro/micro lenses are made for macro photography that goes all the way to 1:1. There's also the minimum working distance which is the distance between the object to the lens. Take for instance, the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR lens has a minimum working distance of ~1'. That means that it goes to 1:1 at 1' distance, that's if you want to go 1:1 magnification. If you don't need that, then you can be further away and crop it down as long as you're not cropping too much (loss of resolution, contrast, quality, etc.).

Here's how the perspective changes off a full frame sensor with the 105mm.

Here's the distance from the front of the lens to the aquarium glass. The acro is 1" away from the front of the glass.
1:1 - 4.5"
1:2 - 8.25"
1:4 - 15.25"

You can get a regular lens and shoot at like 1:4 and then crop in as needed, but you still would lose a bit of quality.

 

[nanomarine]

Alan - thanks for your recommendations. Is adorama.com a good site to look for used camera equipment? The used canon 100mm lens is so much cheaper than the canon refurbished site.

Will- Ya, the scope is still my goto instrument to have a magnify view of the corals to check for pests and stuff. The camera should be more versatile I hope, it can capture an images that I can refer to at a later date.

My goal is to be able to get a good zoom image anywhere in the tank between 30" to 50" about 1' from the glass.

ebn - Is the 1:1 magnification the highest that the 105mm can do ? Those are very crisp clear shots BTW. I've seen posted macro shots of acros that fills the image with just the tip and a couple polyps i.e higher magnification and resolution ? Can it be done with the 100mm lens ? Or another more expensive lens?

 

[Ebn]

Yes, the max on the 105mm is 1:1. You can go past 1:1 with the Raynox adapter added to the end of the lens but then the depth of field is extremely narrow and you have to be even closer to the subject. You lose a lot of light and then it becomes harder to handhold (above are handheld).

BTW, macro lenses aren't zoom lenses. They're fixed focal length lens so you have to move around to get the shots. What you're describing would require cropping or a very long macro lens to look further into the tank. I've shot pics from pretty good size tanks and the 105mm does well as long as you know how to use it.

As for macro shots that fills the image with just the tip, most of those are with macro lenses, but some of them not even at 1:1. All you have to do for that type of shot is shoot it at a specific angle.

Here's an example of that. RR Pink Floyd shot from the side to get the profile image.

Same coral and shot at the same f/stop, but from a different angle.

You can even get more blur by just opening the lens up even further or vary the angle to separate the focus point from the background.

You can also add something like the Raynox 250M to the end of the lens and go past 1:1. Here's the edge polyps of the pearlberry shot at f/45 at ISO 6400, also handheld.

 

[Ebn]

Not sure how big of a tank you're shooting pics from, but here's some older pics that I shot awhile back. These pics are from a cropped Nikon sensor instead of a full frame, but no actual cropping involved in processing. These pics were from a 225 gallon tank.

 

[hyacinth]

Alan - thanks for your recommendations. Is adorama.com a good site to look for used camera equipment? The used canon 100mm lens is so much cheaper than the canon refurbished site.

Yeah, Adorama is a pretty reputable store but the disparity in price between Adorama and the Canon refurb site I referenced is because there are 2 different 100mm Macro lenses from Canon as the "L IS"version is approx 2x the cost. Nice thing about the 100 f2.8L IS is that it's also an outstanding portrait lens.

EBN (Eric) knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.

 

[nanomarine]

Eric- thanks for taking the time and sharing your knowledge and illustrated pics about this topic. It's apparent that I need to get a camera and the f105mm macro to start experimenting on my own eventually...

Since I cannot zoom with the macro, how does one get a closeup close to 1:1 on a coral that's say 20+" from the glass ? Can it be done other than cropping and magnifying with a regular shot which lowers the resolution?

 

[marioensf]

I used to have a set of close -up "filters" about three decades ago, I could get very crisp magnification out many objects but that was back when film roamed the earth.
After my equipment got stolen I just veered clear of an expensive hobby, never got to buy a nice macro lens. These days is more affordable since you process everything on a computer screen, images you don't like, images you delete, no more film to proce$$

 

[Ebn]

Most macro photography is rocking back and forth once you have the magnification set (1:1 and then move the camera back and forth until you nail the exposure). As for if you can get 1:1 on a coral that's 20+" from the glass, that's basically going to be impossible since most of the time you need to be much closer to the subject to hit that magnification. You'd need a 150mm or 180mm lens or so and even then they're not 1:1; they're at 1:2.8.

Below is a sample of what 1:4 looks like off the full frame sensor (lower image). Distance is ~20" from the front of the lens to aquarium glass. Top left is 1:1 right off the camera with no cropping. Top right is a crop from the lower image to match as closely to the top left image as possible to give you an idea. Both top left and lower images were shot using the same settings, other than the magnification.

What you'll notice is that the bokeh is going to be quite different in both images. The 1:1 isolates the subject from the background, there's a bit more contrast, and also less noise.

Lastly, is whether or not you will need to get as close as 1:1 for your pics. Please see image below.

The fruit loop colony on the lower left is 2" across and the PPE rock is ~2.5" across in the picture. This was shot at 15" distance at 1:3.25 or so.

Here's another one to take a look at. SSC piece here is ~2 across and the picture was shot at ~13" distance at 1:7.

1:1 is great for looking at polyps but is way too close for most colony shots of some type or another.

 

[WLachnit]

Your pics are so enjoyable to look at! And keep the tutorials coming! It's all helpful since I'm trying to get my hands around a DSLR.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk